Lightyear Founder: No Charging Stations Needed in Fifteen Years

The idea of putting solar panels on vehicles is not new. As early as 1955, a General Motors engineer presented a model of a solar car. At the end of the 1980s, the idea gained momentum again. Driven by ever-increasing fuel prices and the innovative power of science, ever more powerful solar modules were developed. In 1987, a race exclusively for solar-powered vehicles took place for the first time: The World Solar Challenge, a race over 3000 kilometers through the Australian desert.

Ever New Journeys: Solar Self-Sufficient Around the World

From a German perspective, some might still remember the team from the University of Bochum. The car named SolarWorld GT crossed the Australian desert in 2011. Due to its high weight, it only took 26th place but won the Design Award. Additionally, it was one of the few vehicles that had a street license – classified according to EU vehicle class L7e. The 300-kilogram light vehicle offers space for two people and reaches a top speed of over 100 km/h with a range – without sunlight – of 400 kilometers. Between October 2011 and December 2012, the vehicle was on a solar self-sufficient world tour. By now, it was clear that the solar cell as an energy supplier on the car could have a future.

From Solar-Twingo to Sono

The German startup Sono Motors from Munich initially equipped a Renault Twingo with solar cells. The experiences gained were then used by the founders to design the solar car Sion. This would allow up to 112 kilometers of additional range to be gained per week. The delivery of the vehicle has been repeatedly delayed recently. Most recently, Sono Motors went public in the USA and temporarily reached a market value of nearly two billion U.S. dollars. Although the stock value has since settled at around 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, Sono Motors was able to raise fresh capital for production to start.

Solar Land Netherlands

The World Solar Challenge has been dominated in recent years by a team from Eindhoven University. Former members of the Eindhoven team founded the company Lightyear in 2016 and collected more than five million euros in crowdfunding campaigns by 2019 to develop the first prototypes. The Lightyear One sedan is expected to hit the market in 2022. At a price of around 150,000 euros, the vehicle is not exactly cheap. However, the integrated solar cells can generate an additional range of up to 65 kilometers per day. For those not constantly on long-distance trips, this could mean going weeks or even months without a charging station. This is made possible not only by the solar cells but also by the particularly efficient design of the vehicle.

Some near-production vehicles are already being extensively tested. Industrial production is expected to follow. The Lightyear One is just the beginning of a development; according to Lex Hoefsloot, practically self-sufficient cars are expected to be on the roads in just fifteen years.

What Does It Mean?

Currently, the solar cells only serve as range extenders for electric cars. It is currently hard to imagine in Central and Northern Europe that photovoltaics could become the sole energy source for a vehicle.